The latest TikTok trend capturing brand attention is being fueled by an imaginary currency called “dabloons.” This week, brands such as Ikea and Netflix Canada are giving away the made-up money to followers on TikTok as a low-stakes way to be part of the fake economy. 

The trend dates back to a meme post of a cat on Instagram in 2021, according to the meme database Know your Meme. The blurry image shows a black cat with a splayed paw, showing four distinct toes, which has become the mascot for the trend. Underneath the photo is the caption “4 dabloons.” It's unclear whether “dabloons” refers to the cat's toes or is a play on “doubloons,” the Spanish gold coins.

In October, the cat image resurfaced in the TikTok slideshow feature and was used to show food that could be “bought” for four dabloons. For example, a video would start with, “Hello Traveler! I bet you’re hungry from all this scrolling!” The next image would say the viewer could be given a hamburger, and the next would state that "it'll cost you…." The final image is of the cat with the “4 dabloons” caption.

Dabloons are not a real currency in any capacity, similar to how coins or points in a video game cannot buy you anything in the real world. The dabloon economy runs on imagination, though in theory users who are committed to the bit could write down and track how many dabloons they “possess.” It’s just meant to be fun, and it's probably easier than grappling with the state of the real economy.

The trend has spawned other videos of dabloon thieves, potions to protect your dabloons and even objects you can “buy,” such as houses, pets, and cars. (These TikToks often just scroll through a few choices, with the dabloon price listed.) There are also rules: You cannot give away more than 100 dabloons at one time, and some users will only accept dabloons from TikToks that feature cats on their "For You Page" (FYP) because the trend started with a cat image.

Ikea, Toys “R” Us Canada, the Sacramento History Museum, Netflix Canada, Chevrolet Mexico, British bank Monzo and the game Among Us are a few of the brands that have made posts referring to the trend. Most follow a simple format of welcoming the user, or “traveler,” and rewarding them with dabloons, all set to the viral song “Cold Island Sped Up” by creator Leo/Puffer.

Ikea’s dabloon video, which shows an escalator in one of its stores with the text, “Welcome to our store. It seems pretty quiet today. Here’s 50 dabloons for a weary traveler,” has racked up 2.1 million views. 

Lauren Gallant, Ikea U.S.’s social media manager, started seeing the dabloon trend on her personal FYP, and then started seeing videos asking about what the trend was. “Once I realized the trend was building, I drafted a TikTok, sent it to my in-house video producer for a second set of eyes, and we posted it Tuesday morning,” Gallant said in an email. “Since we were able to turn something around so quickly, we were able to join the conversation while it was still trending and we saw a positive reaction from both IKEA brand fans and TikTok dabloon fans in our views, likes, shares and comments.”

Trends come and go quickly on social media and some are easier for brands to participate in than others. Recent fads include the “Little Miss” and American Girl doll memes, and brands jumping on the viral Corn Kid trend. 

But brands have found not all TikTok trends are wise to jump onto. Take “West Elm Caleb,” which resulted in brand backlash. After several women apparently realized they were dating the same man whose dating profile said he worked for West Elm, they made videos that called him out. Brands hopped on the trend, too, but some consumers were uncomfortable with them taking aim at “Caleb” because he had not told his side of the story, and didn’t feel he deserved to be made fun of.  

The dabloon trend seems to be a silly, easy way for brands to contribute to the fake economy, and earn some points with fans.

In the Toys “R” Us Canada post, the brand’s mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe bounces on a pogo stick while the text on the video reads, “Hello traveler! Congratulations you have arrived at Toys ‘R’ Us! Here’s 70 dabloons.” Users in the comment section were pleasantly surprised to receive the fake currency from the brand. The seven-second-long video has 3.6 million views. 

Another video from the Sacramento History Museum features Howard Hatch, a volunteer who runs the museum’s working printing press. The post shows Hatch at work on the machine and reads, “Welcome to the print shop at the Sacramento History Museum. Here’s 100 dabloons for a weary traveler.” It ends with Hatch holding up a print of a stack of coins. The video has 1.3 million views. One user commented, “Wow, never thought I’d get them from here but thanks.” Others suggested that the museum keep half the dabloons in exchange for the print, or that they would use them at the gift shop.

Netflix Germany took a different approach, referencing another meme on top of the dabloon trend. Its TikTok shows a clip from the show “Breaking Bad” where the character Huell Babineaux lays down on a pallet of money. Text over the video translates to, “If you won the dabloon lottery.” The caption awards viewers 50 dabloons. The TikTok has been viewed almost 342,000 times.

Many TikTok users have jokingly been surprised at how well the dabloon “economy” has sustained itself over the last week. Others find it heartwarming that part of the TikTok community is keeping up the trend, like a huge game. 

Ten dabloons to the brands that helped fuel the trend.